Daily Pilot

Mansoor, Rohrabacher strong in early returns

Local Republicans celebrated at the Westin South Coast Plaza.

By Jill Cowan and Bradley Zint

2:27 PM PST, November 7, 2012

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Local Republicans celebrated the electoral victories of state Assemblyman Allan Mansoor and other area GOP candidates Tuesday night in a packed hotel ballroom across from South Coast Plaza. U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher also nabbed another win.

The election results looked to be strongly in favor for the two politicians, both of Costa Mesa, as party supporters crowded the Republican Party of Orange County-hosted event at the Westin South Coast Plaza.

Mansoor, a former Costa Mesa mayor, will represent 74th Assembly District from Sacramento. Rohrabacher, who looks poised for a 13th term in Congress, will serve voters of the 48th Congressional District.

Both districts are newly redrawn. The 74th includes Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and portions of Huntington Beach and Irvine. The 48th is a coastal bloc that includes Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and parts of Huntington Beach.

"I wasn't worried. I felt I would win," Mansoor said.

He said he'd spent much of the day making phone calls in support of Costa Mesa City Council candidates.

Mansoor commended his opponent, Bob Rush, whom he said "ran a very strong campaign, and I wish him the best."

Rush, as of just before 11 p.m., had garnered about 41% of the vote, while Mansoor had 59%, with just under half of precincts reporting.

He said he hadn't completely given up hope, in spite of the deficit. But however things panned out, Rush said, he saw his run as a victory for political outsiders.

"I am one of the happiest guys in Newport Beach," he said. "Not only did I highlight how ineffectual and how dishonest our representatives are, I also showed the average person they're not so inconsequential as we would normally think ourselves."